Safety Tips from Arizona Childproofers

www.kidsafeworldwide.org

Monday, May 19, 2014

What Safety Items To Keep By The Pool

It is important to remember that when we go out into the pool area and there are toddlers, teens and adults in the water …. We need to be on alert and not out to catch some rays, read a book or talk on the phone. 2014 has had too many drowning’s already…..let us do what we can to prevent any more.

When we go out to the pool we need to be prepared. Here are some ideas to help you have what you need when you need it:

Prepare a Kit:

1. Zip Lock Bag to put your phone in to keep it from getting wet

a. The phone is for emergencies only

b. Do Not Talk on the phone while you are by the pool and there are people in the pool

2. First Aid Kit

a. A Simple First Aid Kit is essential for the minor things that may happen by the pool

3. Life Saver, Pool Noodle or Shepherds Hook

a. These are for reaching out into the pool and having someone grab hold when struggling. NEVER jump in to help….you may become the victim

4. Whistle

a. This is to get attention when needed

i. Getting children to stop something

ii. Getting help in a dangerous situation

5. Bottled Water

a. It is important to stay hydrated

6. Sunscreen

a. Apply frequently

b. Get fresh Sunscreen at the beginning of the year.

i. Sunscreen expires and loses it effectiveness after it is opened for 6 months

Contact:

Arizona Childproofers at 480-634-7366

For

Childproofing, Pool Fence, Car Seat and Senior Safety

info@azchildproofers.com

www.azchildproofers.com

NEXT POST: Pool Fences

Sources:

www.kidsafeworldwide.org

Thursday, May 15, 2014

More Signs of Drowning

More signs of drowning to watch for when people are in the water – no Matter the age of the person:

When children are playing….the water makes noise

When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

Head is low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes are glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs—in vertical position
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
Cannot respond to you when you ask if they are OK
Quiet

So if you are on a boat and a person falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. If a child in the pool seems to be just treading water…call out to see if they are OK….if they can answer….they probably are. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck or sky.

REMEMBER: One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are.

If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them.

Don’t think that just because a child has had swim lessons and swims like a fish, or the pool is full of teens or adults that you do not need to watch them. In the last 3 weeks in Arizona we have lost an 11, 13 and 17 year old.

REMEMBER: The ABC’s of Pool Safety! ALWAYS ACTIVE Adult Supervision: BARRIER..have a pool fence with a Self-Locking/Self-Latching Gate and never swim without a BUDDY: CLASSES…Swim and CPR Classes for all.

To save lives it takes everyone to be on the watch. Don’t expect the person next you is watching or knows what to look for. If we each make it our responsibility and not the other person’s lives will not be lost! Let us all make a difference!

HAPPY AND SAFE SWIMMING TO ALL

For More Information on Pool and Water Safety, Pool Fences and Childproofing Contact

Arizona Childproofers at 480-634-7366

info@azchildproofers.com

www.azchildproofers.com

NEXT POST: Things to assist you when you are at the pool

Sources:

Mario Vittone’s blog.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

THE INSTINCTIVE DROWNING RESPONSE

What is “The Instinctive Drowning Response?” The term coined by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D is what people do to avoid drowning or perceive suffocation in the water. It is almost silent: Very little splashing , No waving, No yelling or calls for help.

Consider this to understand just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be:

a. Drowning is the # 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 14 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—

b. Approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult.

c. In some of the 750 drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening.

d. Drowning does not look like drowning

Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:

1. “Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

Not always when a person is yelling for help and thrashing are they in real trouble….they could be experiencing aquatic distress. Aquatic distress is not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response and aquatic distress doesn’t last long – BUT – unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc. Knowing about water Safety and Pool Safety can and will save lives

Watch for our next post: More things to understand and to look for in drowning and other tools to use around water.

For more information about Water Safety, Pool Safety and Pool Fences contact:

Arizona Childproofers at 480-634-7366

info@azchildproofers.com

www.azchildproofers.com

Sources:

www.Kidsafepoolfences.com

www.ExquisitePoolfence.com

http://mariovittone.com/

Monday, May 12, 2014

CAN YOU TELL WHEN SOMEONE IS DROWING???

Arizona Childproofers wants EVERYONE to be safe in the water. Drowning can happen in a pool at a home OR a friends house, in a public pool, at the beach or at the lake. Drowning can happen anywhere there is water. The more aware we are of what to do, what to watch for, how to react….the more lives t will be saved.

Below is an excerpt for a blog written by Mario Vittone

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know—from 50 feet away—what the father could not recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In some of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening.

NEXT POST: Details of - “The Instinctive Drowning Response”.

For more information contact:

infor@azchildproofers.com

480-483-6305

Sources:

http://mariovittone.com/

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The ABC's of Pool Safety

THE ABC'S OF WATER SAFETY

5-8-14

A - ALWAYS ADULT SUPERVISION

Always have an ADULT watching the pool. The Water Watcher does not take their eyes off the water. The Water Watcher does not talk on the phone. The Water Watcher does not let things distract them. The Water Watchers wear something different so everyone knows they are the Water Watcher and will not distract them. The Water Watcher knows how to swim or has the tools next to them and knows how to use them if someone is in trouble...pool noodle....shepherds hook...life saver....etc.

B - BARRIER

ALL pools should have several layers of protection. A POOL FENCE is one of those necessary layers. If you do not have children at home....your neighbors may. Talk to the experts...first responders...they will tell you....NEVER take your pool fence down. There are different types of fences out there but one thing is in common....have a self-closing/self-latching gate and 5' is always the safest.

C - CLASSES

Children needs swim lessons. This should be done yearly for their first few years...many forget the skill over the winter. ADULTS that do not know how to swim...should take swim lessons also. ADULTS should take CPR lessons.

Yes, this is Drowning season in Arizona. We can be part of the solution. Don’t think someone else is watching the pool. Be pro-active and make sure that the ABC’s of Pool Safety are being followed. Make sure there is a Water Watcher. Don’t care if people think you are being “over protective”. You will save a life…..it could be the life of your own child or grandchild.

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE SUMMER

For More information contact:

Arizona Childproofers:

480-634-7366 or

info@azchildproofers.com

Sources: